Chapter 7
Emmett
The phone vibrates against the worn wooden table, the sound slicing through the silence of the cabin. I stare at the screen, my jaw tight, my pulse steady.
Unknown number.
I already know who it is.
I let it ring once. Twice. A slow breath pushes through my chest before I answer.
"You’ve been busy, Calloway."
The voice on the other end is smooth, almost amused. A voice that has haunted more people than I can count. Dante Moreau.
I don’t react. I don’t let him hear the anger curling inside my gut. "Should I be flattered you’re keeping tabs on me?"
He chuckles, dark and lazy. "Let’s just say I’m invested. You have something of mine."
My grip tightens on the phone. "She’s not yours."
A pause. "That’s where you’re wrong."
I don’t give him the satisfaction of a response. Instead, I glance toward the hallway where Raine is asleep, curled up in the shadows. She doesn’t know this call is happening. Doesn’t know the kind of monster breathing down her neck.
Dante sighs, dragging the moment out. "You know how this ends, Calloway. She runs, but she doesn’t escape. You can’t protect her forever."
My teeth grind. "Watch me."
Another laugh, this one sharper. "I was hoping you’d say that. It’ll make breaking you that much more satisfying."
I hang up before he can say another word.
The moment the call disconnects, I grab my other phone and dial Theo. He picks up on the second ring.
"Tell me you have something."
Theo exhales, low and measured. "Not much. But I can tell you this—she’s running for a damn good reason."
I already knew that. But the fact that Theo is still digging, still being careful with his words, tells me he’s not ready to say everything. "You knew she was at the wedding, didn’t you?"
A pause. Then, "Yeah."
I run a hand through my hair, my frustration boiling just beneath my skin. "You didn’t say anything."
"Because I wasn’t sure," Theo admits. "And I knew you. You’d do exactly what you’re doing now. Get involved."
"Too late for that."
"Yeah," Theo mutters. "I figured."
Silence stretches between us, thick with unspoken things.
"Dante called," I say finally.
Theo swears under his breath. "That was fast."
"He wants her back."
"Of course, he does. But he won’t come for her right away."
"How do you know?"
Theo’s voice turns grim. "Because he’s going to make you suffer first."
I clench my jaw, my muscles coiling tight. "Let him try."
Another beat of silence, then Theo sighs. "Emmett… be smart about this. Don’t let her become your weakness."
I glance toward the hallway again. The shadows shift slightly, the weight of the past and present pressing in all at once.
Too late for that, too.
I’ve been here before. Different place. Different woman. Same damn feeling.
Her name was Ava. She was the first person who looked at me like I was something more than a weapon. She saw pieces of me I didn’t think were worth seeing. And I let her in—let myself believe for one stupid moment that someone like me could have something good. Something real.
And then she died.
Because of me.
Dante knows it. Knows exactly what it means when I get too close, when I let someone matter. That’s why he’s not rushing to take Raine back. He’s going to draw this out. Make me watch. Make me wonder if this ends the same way.
The thought twists like a blade in my gut. I tell myself this is different. That Raine is different. That she’s not some helpless woman who needs me to keep her standing.
But neither was Ava.
I exhale, dragging a hand over my face. I should walk away now. Cut this off before it’s too late.
But it’s already too late.
And something tells me Dante knows it.